Lock for vault-covers.



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WALTER` ST. JOHN BENEDICT, OF NEW YORK, N.

Loox Fort vAUL'r-CovEns.

Specication of Letters Patent.

y y Patented July a, 19o?.

Application tiled December 16,1905. Serial No. 291,990.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER S'r. JOHN BENEDICT, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, in the county of Kings and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locks for Vault-Covers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing, forming ar part thereof.

My invention relates to locks for vault-covers, more particularly those employed for covering coal-holes or house-vaults, and has for its objects security, .simplicity oi construction and operation, and capability of being operated from the inside of the vault without special appliances. i

The security of the device is assured by positive and tight locking and by the requirement of a specially shaped key to unlock and lift the cover from the outside of the lvault. This is associated with ready operation fromthe inside of the vault either directly by hand or by any suitable means for transmitting a thrust to a lock-operating block. The operations of unlocking and lifting the vault-cover are effected successively by continuous upward movement, whether the actuation is from the outside by a key, or from the inside,- by hand or by any thrusting appliance. The locking operation is effected automatically as soon as the cover has been restored to proper position, and this also is of considerable importance as to thesecurv ity of the device, assuring that a cover which has been' replaced in position will be locked in such position without reliance upon the operator to perform any other operation than that of replacing the cover. r I will nowdescribe the construction embodying vmy invention illustrated in thel accompanying drawings,

. and will thereafter point out my. invention in claims.

Figure l is alongitudinal central vertical section of y.

the vault-cover locked in Aposition at the vault opening and showing the key inposition to be inserted'in the key-hole of the cover. Fig.l2 is a plan view of part l of the cover and of, tli'e rim ofthe vault opening. Fig.

3 is an underneath plan view of the cover. Fig.' 4 is a sectional detail taken on the line 4 4, Fig. l. i v

A supporting rim for the cover is shown as comprising aiianged metallic bushing a which is tted into the comparatively rough edges of the pavestone b and is secured thereto by cementing material lb filling an annular space between the flanges of the rim. Obviously, where a concrete sidewalk is employed, the plas-l tic concrete may be introduced directly into the annular space between the anges of the rim.'

The cover comprises a somewhat dome-shaped body portion c which overlaps the supporting rim a and rests upon the same at its outer periphery and has a downwardly projecting cylindrical portion or ring e which fits within the inner circumferential surface of thesupporting rim a. j

The locking device for the cover comprises locking means or bolts f which arel iitted to slide, inproximity to their outer ends, through openings in the oever-ring e and, in proximity to their inner ends, throughopeu` ings in brackets g, these brackets g extendingdownward from the cover and being shown as integral therewith. As shown, two of these bolts are provided arrangedv in diametral alinement. These bolts f have downwardly and inwardly inclined outer faces so that they will be pushed inward by,contact with-the rim a when the cover is inserted in the rim to close the vault opening, and have horizontal upper faces so that when projected below the rim a they will lock against lthe' lower face of the rim.- They are spring actuated so as to be projected or closed automatically, by means of) u -helical springs j, which encircle the bolts and bear against collars or shoulders t', these collars or shoulders being arranged so as to contactwith the inner periphery of the cover-ring e when the bolts have been fully projected. The inner ends of the bolts arel connected by pins and slots with arms .k of bolt-actuating bellcrank levers, and these bell-crank levers are pivoted uponr pins vh projecting from the brackets g and have inwardly extending arms l engaging at their inner ends in circumferential grooves in a bolt-actuating block m. A boss n projecting downward from the cover has a c'ylindrical pocket formed. therein in which the bolt-actuating blockm is ttedto move vertically. Upward movement of the bolt-actuating block m raises the inner ends of the arms l. of the bell-crank levers and .moves inward thelower arms Ic of these levers and'by j this-movementactuates and withdrawsjthe bolts,`but

' be easily pushed upward by a bar or rod or any readily available contrivance. The upward movementI of the v bolt-actuating block. will unlock the bolts, but the continuance ofthe pressure and movement in the same direction will .lift the vault cover, so that the unlocking and opening movements are continuous, the vaultcover-moving upward as soon as the bolts have been vsufficiently withdrawn to unlock it. `Thus a single continuous movement unlocks the vault-cover and lifts th vault-cover, both unlocking and opening the vault.

To unlock and lift the cover from the outside of the r p is shown in Fig. 1 in position to be inserted in the key-hole i 0f the cover, the bits q' of are key having characteristicv irregularities, as usual in keys, and the co-operating openings and parts being correspondingly shaped so that the covereannot be unlocked except by its particular key. The characteristic shape of the 'thereof first through the'outer key-hole r and then through the inner key-holes and then to turn the key preferably through a right angle. The parts will then be inthe position shown in Fig. 4 and the key may then be lifted7 and in its initial movement it will ele-` vate the bolt-actuating block m and Withdraw the bolts and as soon as the bolts have been withdrawn it Will lift the cover, and thus by a continuous movement ofthe key the cover will be unlocked and lifted up so as to uncover the vault.

To guard against clogging of the key-holes and recesses with dirt, a central opening t extends downthrough the bolt-actuating block m, through which dirt may be forced o`r will fall so as to keep the keyholes and recesses suiiiciently free from obstructive clogging.

In the operation of closing the vault it is onlyr necessary t0 drop the cover in place. The bolts will be pushed inward by contact with the supporting rim until the cover,has reached its lower position and then will be automatically forced outward by the springs 7' assisted by the weight of the bolt-actuating block m.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the constructions shown and above particularly described within the principle and scope of my invention. I

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent lsz- 1. A vault-cover comprising locking means and an in terioriy exposed upwardly movable part for actuating.,r the lockingr means, wllereby the cover may be unlocked and raised by continuous upward pressure applied to said part from the interior of the vault.

2. A vault-cover comprising locking,r means and an up wardly movable part for actuating the locking means, the upwardly movable part being exterior-ly shielded by the cover and exposed interior-ly, and the cover having a key-hole suitably located relatively to the upwardly Inovabie part, and a key adapted to enter the key-hole of ihe cover and to engage with the upwardly movable part,

whereby the cover may lbe unlocked and raised by a continuous upward movement of such part imparted to it by the key from the exterior of the vault or by a thrust from the interior of the vault.

'ihe combination with a vauit-eover and a rim for a vault-opening, of a vertically reciprocainbie boli.-aci'uat ing block guided and exteriorly shielded by the cover and exposed to the interior of the vault, locking bolts carried by the cover and engaging the rim to lock ihe cover in closed position, and bell-crank levers at diametrically opposite sides of the block and pivoted to the cover and having engagement with the block and with the boils` so as to withdraw the bolts when the block is moved upwardly.

4. 'ihe combination with a vault-cover' and a rim for a vault-opening, of a vertically reciprocatabio boit-actual ingr block guided and exteriorly shielded by the cover and exposed to the interior of the vault, locking bolts carried by the cover and engaging the rim to lock the cover ill closed position, bell-erank levers at diametricaiiy opposiioI sides of the block and pivoted to the cover and havingr engagement with the block and with the bolts so as io withdraw the bolts when the block is moved upwardly, the cover having a key-hole, and a key for entering the keyhoie and engaging with the block to move the block upl wardly, whereby the bolts may be withdrawn aud ihe cover raised by a continuous upward movement imparted to the block from the outside oi. the vault by a pull Ion the key or directly by an upward thrust from the inside of the vault.

5. The combination with a vault-cover and a rim for a vault-opening, of locking means carried by the cover and engageable with the rim in any circumferential position of the cover relatively to the rim, and an interior-ly exposed upwardly movable part for unlocking the locking means and raising the cover' by continuous upward pressure applied to said part from the interior of the vault'.

in testimony whereof I have aiiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER ST. .TOIIN BENEDIC'I.

Witnesses:

iiuNur D. WILLIAMS, BuiiNAlin Cownx. 

